Life has gotten in the way

Well, I think that the title of this post says it all. Life, particularly my academic life, has gotten in the way of being able to sew. Now that the tests I had for the week are over I can get back to sewing. Over the weekend I began working on two things that I had shown ya'll in the last post.

First, I started working on Butterick 4686, which is a full skirt. I cut the size 16 out, which is the same size I cut for my navy pencil skirt but the patterns are two different brands.  I sewed the back seam together and then attached the back piece to the front. It is massive. I decided that I would pin the waistband in the exact fashion that it is to be sewn to see if it made a difference. Well, it did make it a bit smaller but not enough to fit. The instructions simply state to ease the waistband when sewing it on, but there are no pleats or gathers called for. I can't really imagine that easing the waistband on is going to get rid of 6 or 7 inches of extra fabric. Can anyone help me out on this? Will easing inn the waistband affect it that much or should I just pick it apart, lay the pattern back on it, and then cut a smaller size?

After the skirt came out too large I decided to put it aside for a while and move onto another project. I decided to work on my vintage Simplicity top from the 70s. The bust size was a 38 so I expected that it would fit correctly. However, when I had sewn it together to a point that I could try it on it too was just a bit too big, and it was making the armholes gape open. Perhaps I need to take my measurements again? This time I decided to just take it in a bit at the side seams and this did the trick. After fixing the fit school decided to bust it's way in like the Kool-Aid man and snatch away my sewing time like a thief in the night. So, the top has been hanging in my room unfinished since Saturday. It only needs its armhole facings and a hem and it will be finished. Hopefully I will have a picture of a finished shirt to show the world soon!

I hope everyone's sewing is going well and the pesky thief who snatched away my sewing time will keep his grubby little paws off all of ya'lls time.